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Preemies
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XP: Advice/Experience Breastfeeding Preemie
Hello ladies!
I just wanted to ask a question about the possibility/ success of breastfeeding a preemie (week 32 on?)
I
have been admitted to the hospital for ruptured membranes at 31w 5d and
am now 32 w 3 days. The Dr.'s are hoping that I can stay on strict bed
rest and keep the baby in until week 34. If so, then I will deliver
then. If I start having contractions before then, they won't stop labor
so it could be anytime between 32-34 weeks that he is born.
I was curious if anyone had experience with breastfeeding a preemie and could share their knowledge? I've heard lot's of different thinks from NICU nurses (it woud be too hard, he won't know how to suck), L&D nurses (really encouraging pump then latch practice) as well as my Dr's (it is ALWAYS a possibility, just depends on the baby).
Thanks in advance for your insights/ experiences!
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Re: XP: Advice/Experience Breastfeeding Preemie
I have successfully bf my preemie. He was born at 31w5d and while he couldn't latch right away the nicu was very supportive of bf and I knew I wanted to if I could. I started pumping the night he was born. I got a little colostrum that was given through his ng tube a tube through his nose to his stomach. This is how he ate at first. After about 2 weeks I started to put him to breast during kangaroo care. He started to show an interest almost immediately shocking us all. It still wasn't for a little while longer that he actually tried to latch. We had to use a nipple shield which is common from what I hear. He would get really tired during feedings and we had to finish with his tube some times. But eventually he got it. A few weeks after he came home he self weaned from the nipple shield. He loves bf far more than a bottle. It wasn't always easy but it can be done.
Oh and I pumped the whole time to give BM for his feedings. I pumped too much apparently and got a crazy oversupply. That along with my fast let down caused gagging issues at times. If you start finding that you are getting a lot of milk at each pumping you might want to talk to the lactation consultant to see if you can slow down pumping.
Good luck and if you have any other questions let me know!
Lurker here...
My son was born at 30w4d and is successfully breastfed now. Definitely start pumping right away, my LC suggested within an hour of birth and pump 8-12 times per day. It was a lot of work but establishing a supply is important. Around 34 weeks my son started to root around during kangaroo care and the NICU nurses suggested we begin nursing. (Until this point he was fed through a NG tube) It started slow as he was just learning to coordinate suck, swallow, breeathe but with the help of a nipple shield we established 100% breast feeding by 37weeks when we were discharged from the hospital. We ditched the nipple shield shortly after.
My advice, get yourself a breastfeeding pillow and take your time. Its stressful and downright frustrating at times. It is hard some days when LO is just too tired to take a full feeding from breast and the nurses need to top them up via the tube. Take your time and let LO lead the way. And once they are getting close ask to feed on demand with a minimum intake required per shift.
Hoping you make it to 34 weeks! Good luck!
First of all, hi! My story is very similar to yours. My membranes ruptured at 30w4d, and I successfully kept baby baking until my induction at 34w, so it can be done! Best wishes to you.
As for BFing, it is two steps forward one step back for us, but it has been doable overall. DD has had exclusively breastmilk from birth (although some of her feeds are fortified with extra calories, and your LO's likely will be as well). Obviously, NICU babies get very used to bottles, but try to put your baby to the breast every day, even if they don't do much eating there. Nipple shields are controversial, but many preemie moms end up using them. We got one the day before DD was discharged, and it did help her eat longer at the breast. However, ultimately, it's something else to wean off of, which can be annoying. Since DD didn't have any problems latching, I wish we would have skipped the shield and just let her increase time at the breast on her own. Anyway, DD is 2 months old (3 weeks adjusted), so where are we now? Well, I breastfeed her at least 3 times a day, and bottle feed expressed breastmilk the rest of the time. Because she is a big baby, she still doesn't always have the patience/stamina to take in enough calories at the breast to keep her satisfied as long as a bottle would. However, her pedi assures me that this will get better over time as she gets even more efficient. The pedi also gave me permission to draw a line in the sand and just nurse for 24 hours so that she would learn faster, but I don't see the point since I am going back to work in 4 weeks anyway.
Whew, sorry for the novel, but I guess the point is that it's going pretty well - better than I expected when I was on bedrest anticipating her birth.
Daughter born at 34 weeks due to PPROM, July 2012
Expecting baby #2, May 8, 2015
May 2015 signature challenge for January: "You had ONE job!"